SEO Essentials for Climbing the YouTube Popularity Ladder

The 12-step YouTube SEO Guide for Beginners Who Want More Views

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

The joy of creating on YouTube is often dampened by the disappointment of underperforming videos. You have published your content and it’s not getting the views you had hoped.

Well, let’s change that!

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through YouTube SEO from the very start to the very end.

Nothing complicated. No paid programs or expensive apps needed. We are going back to basics and get your videos discovered.

Ready?

Let’s Go!

Part 1: Research Your Topic and Competitors

Come up with a video idea . Can’t come up with one? Let me help. I heard you can make a mean scrambled egg, why don’t you show the world how you do it?

Excellent! Let’s go with that idea.

Wait, don’t go making the video yet. First, we have to do some research. We need to know what videos already exist out there.

Step 1: Find Related Videos

Do a quick search on YouTube to see what videos already exist on your topic.

Uh oh… your video will be competing against celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

Okay, don’t panic! There is a fantastic quote, credited to bestselling author, Jon Acuff , that goes:

While researching your competition, you will feel overwhelmed, but remember, you are at the beginning, and Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are not even at their middle, they are way passed the finish line. You still have a long journey to go, so don’t get discouraged, get inspired!

Watch those videos and understand what they are all about.

Understand that people watch YouTube for 3 key reasons:

- To be entertained

- To learn something new

- To be inspired

A video that can hit all 3 marks is going to be positioned for success. Don’t fret too much about the competition, as long as your content is good, you will see improvement.

So if you think this scrambled egg idea can hit those 3 marks, then I encourage you to go to the next step. If you don’t, let’s regroup and brainstorm some more YouTube video ideas .

Step 2: Find Keywords

Now that we’ve decided that we are sticking with the video idea, we are ready to do some keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases people type in the YouTube search bar to discover videos.

Come up with as many relevant keywords as you can. Start by entering a keyword into the YouTube search bar. This will tell you what are the most popular searches associated with that keyword:

Once you have an idea of what people are searching for related to your topic, you’ll want to find more relevant keywords. I like to use the free app, Ubersuggest to do that.

This app gives you a whole list of long-tail keywords, which are 3-4-word phrases which is specific to what your video is about.

Some you will use to dig deeper in and other you will deem irrelevant to your videos. A good way of determining the value of a keyword is by the stats the application shows.

How to Read Keyword Suggestions

Once you have a list of keywords, you will see some numbers on the right-hand side. Here is what each one is about:

- Search volume is the number used to identify the popularity of the keyword. The higher the number the more people are searching for it.

- CPC is the value accredited by YouTube, determining how much advertisers are paying to target audiences who search for that keyword and click on the link.

- Competition is the number used to qualify how many other content are using that keyword.

The two categories that matter most to us right now is Search Volume and Competition. We want keywords with high search volume and low competition rate.

In the example above, you can see that the keyword “avocado scrambled eggs” has a Search Volume of 1,000 and a competition rate of 0.0. This is a good keyword to target, if you can incorporate an avocado to your dish… which of course you can!

Step 3: Write Title

I know you might want to deal with the Title, Description, and Tags after you’ve filmed and edited your video. But if you want to apply a YouTube SEO-focused strategy, then these should be addressed before you even pick up a camera as it can greatly dictate the content you end up creating.

A good YouTube title sparks curiosity, evokes emotional reaction, and promises value to your viewers.

Of course you can title your video simply: Making Scrambled Eggs

But does it spark curiosity? Not really… most people can make scrambled eggs.

Does it evoke any emotion? Maybe hunger… but even then, not really…

Finally, does it promise value? Well, assuming that most people can at least crack an egg into a pan, then hardly.

Your scrambled egg is special! Your video is special! We need to evoke that in the title — and as long as you are not writing any clickbait and deliver on what the title suggest, you can do this.

So, how about this: Are My Amazing Scrambled Eggs Better Than Gordon Ramsay’s?

Hmmm… Well, is it? We know that the Gordon Ramsay’s video has almost 30M views. Many people have already tried cooking it, I’m sure. There is only one way to find out, by encouraging others to try it over Gordon’s.

You don’t need to go for a somewhat contentious title like this, but that’s the idea, you want something that gets people curious, make them feel a certain way, and in the end, make them better for having watched your video.

See how a good title can guide the rest of your video?

Step 4: Write Description

You aren’t going to be writing the description for the viewers necessarily, you are going to be writing it for YouTube’s algorithms. The better YouTube understands what your video is about, the better they can show it to people searching for it.

This means you need to include the keywords you were researching at the beginning of your description, as YouTube will be using them to identify the content of your video. 1 or 2 keywords that best represent your video is enough. Don’t stuff the title with too many keywords or you’ll risk sounding like a robot.

But also use the description for practical uses too, if you have additional information such as supportive links, outline of the video’s content, a list of materials, step-by-step guide, or a recipe that you think your human viewers will find useful, you should input that in the description as well.

Step 5: Write Tags

Thank goodness we did the keyword research in Step 2, because coming up with tags is not as easy as it looks.

Pull 15 keywords from the list and keep it somewhere safe.

Note: The keywords you used in the title should be found in your tags, and since they are the most important ones, you should place them first.

Organize your keywords in the tag as such:

Have the specific keywords at the top, followed by more general keywords, and then branded ones:

Specific: How to make scrambled eggs

General: Scrambled eggs

Branded: Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs

Part 2: Make The Best Darn Video Possible

It doesn’t matter how relevant your keywords are or how epic your title is, if you video sucks (i.e. your viewers click in and leave right away), YouTube will not show it in search.

Even if you haven’t created any videos yet, you can follow these next steps to ensure you are following the best practices to structure your video.

Step 6: Plan and Film the Hook

The first few seconds is where the largest percentage of your earned viewership will drop off. Odds are 20% of your viewers won’t even get past the first 10 seconds .

What you need is a hook, an intro that ensures this video is what they want to watch and let’s them know what they can expect.

Step 7: Film B-Roll

One static camera shot of you talking or cooking or giving a tutorial can cause your viewers to lose attention.

In order to keep your viewers interest, you will need b-roll, or supplemental footage you can cut to give you video more life.

While jump cuts (cuts made on a sequential clip of the same subject or in the same camera position) are fine, having additional footage to cut to will make your video feel more fluid.

So when you are filming your scrambled egg video, make sure you get some footage of you cracking the egg, scrambling it, and serving it on the plate.

Step 8: Encourage Viewers to Engage in Video

Liking, disliking, subscribing, and commenting on your video will all help your performance indirectly.

While YouTube wouldn’t rank your video higher simply because you have more likes subscribers, or comments, engagement from viewers help your video get discovered. If you get a like or comment from a YouTuber with a lot of subscribers, your video may be visible to those who are following that YouTuber for a while.

The best way to get engagement from your audience is to encourage them to like and subscribe or ask them a question or start a dialogue.

For example, in this scrambled egg video you are making, at the end you can ask, “So what do you think, is this better than Gordon Ramsay?”

Who knows, who will respond.

Step 9: Design a Thumbnail

You could have made a brilliant video, but if you have a poor quality thumbnail that is unattractive, then the overall performance of your video will suffer — and good SEO can only do so much after that.

Your viewers will absolutely judge your video by its cover so it’s important to put some thought into it and not solely rely on the three random thumbnail choices that YouTube picks for you.

Take a look at your competition. If they all look the same, do something different. Add text or a human face (preferably yours) to evoke emotion, as viewers are more likely to click into a video if they see an expressive image.

Don’t want to pay money for a photo editing software such as Photoshop?

You can use an online service called Canva or download GIMP , an open-source photo editor much like Photoshop, but far less powerful. These will help you get the job done as you are starting out.

Want to know more thumbnail maker? Check our picks of the best free YouTube thumbnail makers .

Part 3: Publishing With Attention to Optimization

Well done finishing the video! You are almost there… but not there yet.

Come on, keep going!

Step 10: Fill Out Your Videos Assets

The video is done, the thumbnail is designed, and you have all your title, description, and tags ready to go. This step is easy, upload the video, and fill out the assets, and give yourself a pat on the back.

Step 11: Add Transcripts

In addition to making your content accessible for people who don’t want to or can’t listen to the audio in your video, adding subtitles and closed captions will help YouTube understand the spoken content in your video.

While YouTube does have an automatic subtitle generator, it’s not reliable enough to be used for identifying the keywords you use in your video.

You can choose to write out the whole transcript of your video yourself, but if you are press on time, which of course you are, you can simply go and edit the automatic transcript already available in your video. By the way, you can also use some automatic transcription software.

Step 12: Add Video to Playlist

Finally the last thing you need to do for your video is to add it to a playlist. Even though it might be the first video in the playlist, it helps YouTube identify your video if you organize it in a playlist. As you accumulate more content, having videos in playlists makes content easier to find and keeps relevant videos together.

When viewers searches, having your videos in playlists increases the chance of it being discovered.

So if your first video is about scrambled eggs, maybe you next video can be about the awesome butter toasts.

I guess, you are on your way to making a pretty badass breakfast playlist. I personally can’t wait to see it!

If you treat SEO as an afterthought, only after your video is created, you are not using it to its full potential. If you follow these 12 steps during the course of your production, you will find that SEO doesn’t simply help your video perform at the end, but contributes in all the other phases of creating your video as well.

Besides considering YouTube SEO, you should make a good YouTube video as well. Filmora is a powerful video editing software that features lots of templates and effects. Get the free trial version below and have a try today.

Do you have any questions about SEO? Please leave us a comment below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Enhancing Clarity & Comprehensibility: Adding On-Screen Captions in Video Projects

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before or After Uploading

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A great way to emphasize something you say in your vlog is to have your words appear next to you as you say them . Adding text to YouTube videos can look really professional. You might put a title at the beginning of your video, use bullet points to help people keep track of your monologue, or to highlight an important point by writing it on your screen. When you use text in your videos there are a few things you need to keep in mind. In this article, I will share with you 2 ways to add text/subtitles/captions to YouTube videos, whether you need to add text to the video during editing and upload it to YouTube later, or you have uploaded the video to YouTube already and want to add some captions and subtitles to complement it.

• Part 1: Add text to video before uploading YouTube
• Part 2: Add Text to YouTube video after uploading
• Part 3: Top 3 YouTube Video Text Tips

How to Add Text to YouTube Video Before Uploading

Before uploading the video to YouTube, it is recommended to add text to the video first. You can add simple texts and captions to videos with the free video editing software. To add more text effects to the video, you can use Filmora, Sony Vegas Movie Studio and Adobe Premiere CC based on your video editing skills and needs. These software programs are great video editors, which can help you input text easily.

1. Use Filmora to Add text to Videos

There are plenty of Text effects built in Filmora, you can apply motions and animation to texts, titles, subtitles, end credits and openers as well. Each title preset will present different effects. You can add multiple text boxes and place the text to any position in need. Besides writing texts to video, you can select the target font, size and color and customize the text effect in detail as well. To add text to a video in Filmora is easy, just follow the steps below:

• Open up Filmora and drag a clip into your timeline. Then, go to Text/Credit.
• Find a style that you like and drag it into your timeline where you want your text to appear. Make sure your text is selected in your timeline and click the Advanced Text Editing icon, which looks like a pen and paper.
• Insert your own words and drag your text to where you want it on the screen. Adjust the size by dragging the blue squares which surround your text.
• To change the color of your text, go into the Customize menu. You will find it near the top left of your screen. While you are in Customize there will be a section called Fill. This is where you select the color of your text. You can even change the fill type to ‘gradient fill’ and have your text transition between two colors.
• All of Filmora’s text options are animated – they fade, move around the screen, or perform some other type of action as they appear and disappear. To change the animation of your text select Animation next to Customize. A selection of different animations will appear. Double click on the one you want to apply to your text.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Check the detailed steps of how to add text to video in Filmora.

2. Use Windows Movie Maker

As a simple video editing software, Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add text to videos. It provides 3 different options for you to add Title, Caption and Credits to the YouTube videos. You can follow the steps below to add text to the video in WMM.

• To start, launch the Windows Movie Maker.
• After, select import video to insert the video that you want to add text with.
• Select edit movie then click make credits or titles.
• Then add the text that you want to include.

For the step by step tutorial of adding text to YouTube video, check How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker . Besides adding text to video, you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit YouTube video further. Learn How to trim, cut, combine, split video and add transitions and upload video to YouTube in Windows Movie Maker?

3. Use Sony Vegas Movie Studio

Adding text to YouTube videos in Sony Vegas is not so complicated if you are new to this software. You can adjust the color, size, font and duration of the text effect and add fade in and fade out effects. Follow the steps below to add texts to video in Vegas:

• Launch Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
• Click the View Menu then select Media Generators.
• Choose the generator that you want to use.
• After, drag the generator you have chosen on the timeline.
• Then, the video event FX dialogue box will appear.
• Enter the text that you want and modify it by changing the font, size and style.

4. Use Adobe Premiere CC

For professionals who are looking for a professional way to adding text to video and also have a sufficient budget, Adobe Premiere CC is always recommended. You can check the video and the steps below to add text to video in Premiere:

• Click open or create a project.
• Click the file menu then choose new and title.
• After, the text window will appear then utilize the text tool to add text.
• You can also edit your text using the commands that are provided in the Title Menu.
• Save the text that you have made by clicking the file menu then choose Save As.

How to Add Text to video in YouTube after uploading

Sometimes, we have uploaded a video to YouTube and then want to add subtitles/cc to the video later. The good news is that YouTube is not only a site for videos but is also the place where you can edit your videos in an instant. As you have read, adding text and captions to the uploaded YouTube videos is just a breeze.

Of course, you can only add and edit texts and captions to the video under your YouTube account. Here are the steps on how you can add text to your videos with YouTube Video Editor after the video is uploaded.

• Go to youtube.com then sign in to your account. After sign in your YouTube account, click your avatar and select Creator Studio to enter the creator studio interface.
• Click the Video Manager tab and in Videos section you will see all your videos uploaded to YouTube. Select the video that you want to add captions to and then select Subtitles/CC after clicking Edit button.
• Add Captions/Subtitles

While YouTube may have already created the subtitles automatically for your video with its speech recognition technology. If it does, you will see something like Published: English (Automatic) to the right of your video. If the automatically generated subtitles is not correct, you can edit it to improve the accuracy. Select the line that needs modification to make the edits.

If there is no auto-subtitles, you can choose from 3 ways to add subtitles and closed captions to the video: Upload a file, Transcribe and auto-sync and create new subtitles or CC.

Upload a file: upload a text transcript or timed subtitles file.

Transcribe and auto-sync: Type or paste in a full transcript of the video and subtitle timings will be set automatically.

Create new subtitles or CC: Create subtitles and closed captions by typing them in as you watch the video.

If you already have a caption file which contains both text and time codes, just click Upload a file and upload the text to the video.

• Once everything is okay, you can change the name of the video and you can do it in the box beside Project.

Cons of Using YouTube Video Editor

When you make use of this editor, you cannot shorten the clips for music. Moreover, since it is an online editor, you need to refresh the page in order to do the changes. Aside from YouTube Video Editor, you can use Adobe Premier Pro, MAGIX Vegas Pro, OpenShot and Avidemux.

From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complementary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide to find out more YouTube video editor alternatives if you want to add text to video with more features and customization.

Top 3 Tips for Adding Text to YouTube Videos

1. Leave Room

If you know you are going to add text to your video then make sure you leave room for it in your frame. Consider standing off to one side instead of directly in front of your camera. You do not want to have to choose between not using text, making your text really small, or placing it over your face.

While planning out your frame and leaving room for your text, consider what color you are going to make the words and whether it will stand out and look good against your background.

2. Bigger is Better

People should be able to read your text without putting in any extra effort, such as straining their eyes to make out small words. If it takes effort to read your text then a lot of people will just ignore it. Your text should be big enough that somebody watching your video on their smartphone screen – where everything is shrunk down – can read it easily.

It is easier to make your text larger when you stick to titles, keywords, and short sentences.

3. Do Not Overuse

Text is a great tool for making something stand out. However, if you try to use text to emphasize too much of what you say it will lose its effect. Text does not stand out anymore once viewers get too used to seeing it. Too much text can even get annoying and cause people to click away from your videos.

Try to use text to emphasize only the most important things you say.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett